Vertical Ag: Harvesting Going Up

By Steve Bergman

Published in the Vashon Beachcomber November 3, 2022

Vertical gardens fueled by LED lighting

Island Leafy Greens is owned by the Phillips Family

Feeding the world is one of the major causes of the climate crisis. With an expected global human population of nine to ten billion by 2050, Earth’s arable land is projected to be half of what it was in the 1970’s. For long-term food security, Agriculture (Ag) will need to produce 70% more food than at present. Current systems are simply not sustainable and we need new approaches. Conventional Ag now uses 80% of our freshwater, produces approximately 24% of greenhouse gas emissions, and erodes and destroys soils with tilling and other practices. Pesticide and fertilizer use pollutes our waters and compromises Earth’s fragile ecosystems. 

A promising solution is available: Vertical Ag, which grows crops in a closed, stacked system, often hydroponically. It  uses 70-95% less water and over 90% less land, producing 80% more yield per unit area than conventional Ag. Year-round production is possible, as environmental factors are controlled, preventing crop loss due to frost or drought, and systems can be set up almost anywhere. It is resilient to climate change and produces healthier and higher yields faster than traditional Ag. 

The average food item travels 1,500 miles before it reaches our plates, resulting in wasted food and massive carbon and environmental footprints. Global urbanization is expected to grow from 50% in 2000 to nearly 70% by 2050, and urban vertical Ag helps meet the rising demand for fresh local produce. And islands such as Vashon have the added challenge of the ferry for importing their food, making island-grown local food the most sensible. 

The Netherlands, Denmark and other countries have built massive hydroponic farms producing thousands of tons of produce. Target and Ikea have been testing sales of hydroponic systems within their stores. Desert towns in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Australia are growing produce using green energy while conserving water and land. In London’s first underground mushroom and vegetable farm on 2.5 acres of disused World War II tunnels, Growing Underground produces pea shoots, radish, mustard, cilantro, red amaranth, celery, parsley, and arugula. City farms are popping up all over the world, including a repurposed warehouse in Indianapolis (Farm 360) and on 200 female-headed household rooftops in Gaza, the latter funded by the UN, adding fish into the systems (a.k.a. aquaponics).

I visited one of our own Vashon Vertical Ag hydroponic projects last month and was amazed.  Island Leafy Greens, LLC is the brainchild of Rodger and Helen Phillips and collaborators; it’s been providing lettuces and other greens to Vashon grocers and residents for the last three years. They now use two 40 ft containers occupying 600 sq. ft. to grow produce in a high-tech controlled environment. Water is filtered and deionized in a three-stage system to remove harmful components, and 14 essential and trace nutrients are added to the growing media and carefully monitored and replenished, so the plants get just the right amounts of nutrients. They’ve been experimenting with many alternative parameters, including temperature; humidity; LED light intensity, frequency, and duration; air CO2 content, and others to identify the optimal growth conditions needed for  the most nutritional leafy greens. Although they occupy a very small footprint at present, they aspire to expand into a much larger space in the future.

I fully support growing plants in soils; however, hydroponics is a “yes-and” approach that fits many situations. When soils are managed well to create organic-rich dirt, they are nutrient-dense and contain diverse microorganisms, many of which are the basis of a healthy soil microbiome—enhancing plant nutrition. Similar or higher results have been recorded in tests with hydroponic vegetables (HyVeggies) because growers can control precise nutrient inputs. Hydroponic research is evaluating the potential of incorporating beneficial microbes and fungi.

Many of us have learned about the dozens of Vashon greenhouses including on Beall Road and along Ellisport Creek in the last century that used to grow produce for Alaska and elsewhere. Can you imagine repurposing them for hydroponic vertical food systems? For a sustainable and resilient Vashon? Let’s dream beyond importing so much food via ferry and go locally-grown. 

Full disclosure: For over a decade, Mary and I have been experimenting with hydroponic vegetables grown in a Tower Garden System, yielding a variety of tasty HyVeggies. Many systems are now available, or you could design and build your own custom DIY indoor garden. Let’s make Vashon a model community that optimizes our precious land and resources, and show the world what is possible!